One of my regular partners does so many performance style moves with me, they feel great, they are done musically, the technical challenge is very satisfying, and I can trust him that he never puts other people or me in harms way. But what goes through my head is ‘I hope nobody was watching, because I don’t want them to think this is my thing.’
If a couple can truly dance
escenario steps musically while respecting floorcraft, all discussion of "should" is over. It's
their tango! By being musical, they aren't dissing the (long-dead, but still to be honored) orquesta; by respecting floorcraft, they aren't endangering other dancers. Shoot, I'm probably known to be Mr. Boring, but I confess that when the space is available
and the music is amenable, I sometimes add movements that are definitively not "social" in the conservative sense.
The discussion of what other people think isn't that couple's to have, though. People will think what they think. They might think you're showing off and not want to dance with you; if so, they probably won't believe you when you say you did it for the music and each other, not for onlookers. They might think you're into the showy stuff and line up to dance more showy stuff with you; this can lead to regrets if their technical mastery is subpar. They might not have an opinion because they don't register vocabulary, only technique or musicality or elegance or whatever (I know one tanguero who cares only about pretty feet).
As for not paying attention to the music, I agree entirely. Many, most, dancers don't really care. Why, I have no idea. I know that there are things that make me want to dance and others that leave me indifferent.
There are different levels of "paying attention to the music," though.
I like some music
much better than other music. Above all, however, I like some partners and some floor conditions
much better than others. If I have the chance to dance with a beloved partner on a spacious floor, I'll jump on it even if my least-favorite tunes are playing (e.g., plinky-plink stuff from the 1920s, or valses that sound like circus carousel music).
This definitely does not mean that I am not paying attention to the music! On the contrary, it means I'm paying
extra attention to the music. I want to make a favorite person happy and I want to indulge myself in musical expression (potentially including a sneaky
escenario step or two) that a crowded floor cannot accommodate. Since I'm not in love with the music, doing this means I must dig deep into its structure to find ways to respect it but dance interestingly despite its limitations. So, I'm working extra hard on being musical . . . which means I'm paying extra attention to the music.
Honestly, the least-musical dancing I see is from people dancing to their personal Top 40 of tango, which they love so much and dance so often that they aren't actively listening to it, leading to sloppiness.
My response simply stated the fact that the abrazo is an end in itself. It's why most of us dance.
I somewhat agree, because above I wrote, "I like some partners much better than others," "beloved partner," and "favorite person." Clearly, that's at least in part about the abrazo. However, it's also about a given partner's attitude as a human being, their level of technical skill so that "musical expression" and big displacements to fill an empty floor are actually possible, and of course their musicality – I favor followers who listen to and respond to the music over those who receive all music through my ears and body. So, I'd never claim to dance for the abrazo alone, but I'd put a nice abrazo on the wish list, and I'd be willing to abandon it to get to dance a technically challenging tanda with a nice
human being on a spacious floor.
